Paul avoids Asia where the Churches have all turned against him Paul decides to go to Jerusalem to be there for the day of Pentecost. In Greece he spends only 3 months since the Jewish believers* are waiting for a chance to kill him.
He knows that it’s dangerous for him to go to Jerusalem since there are those who would like to see him dead; he is begged by his followers not to go there. He has determined that he would not spend the time in Asia on his way. This is most probably because all the churches in Asia turned against him.
* These are Jewish believers:
and said unto him (Paul), ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. (Acts 21:20)
Also:
“All that believed were together…continuing daily with one accord in the temple” — Acts 2:44-46
Paul Laments the Churches Rejecting Him
This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; (2Ti 1:15) (for teaching doctrines contrary to the Jews, most likely)
In Revelations Jesus commends a church in Asia for rejecting false apostles and liars
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: (Rev 2:2)
At Cesarea, his friends warn him of the danger that he should not go to Jerusalem but he declares that he is “ready to be bound and die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus”.
But as we shall see, when it comes right down to it, he’s not really ready to die for Jesus since tells some half-truths in order to escape some dangerous situations he might get executed for.
Paul meets with James and gets a surprise
When Paul gets to Jerusalem he meets with James, the brother of Jesus and all the elders. James says to him, “Paul, you know there are thousands of Jewish Christians who are zealous of the law, and they have heard that you’re teaching all the Jews to forsake Moses and that they shouldn’t circumcise their children or follow Jewish customs.“
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. (Act 21:20-21)
James: “So now what are you going to do? When they find out that you are here, all these Jewish believers that hate your guts are going to try to stone you to death.”
James: “This is what I suggest you do: go get purified so that the Jewish believers will be convinced that you the rumors they have heard are not true and you are not teaching against the law, but are keeping it.”
Them take, and purify thyself with them, …and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. (Act 21:24)
Paul tries to deceive the Jewish believers in pretending to keep the law
Evidently James either knew Paul was teaching against the law or had heard the rumors that Paul was preaching against the law since James tells him to go and do a Jewish ritual which is according to the law to convince the Jewish believers that the rumors are unfounded.
So Paul goes directly against what he is teaching and hypocritically practices the ritual of purification that is according to the Jewish law in order to try and convince the Jewish believers that he is not teaching against the law. This he does in order to avoid persecution, which he knows he would receive of the Jewish believers since stoning heretics is a long-standing Jewish practice.
James: “We did say that the believing Gentiles should only have to keep themselves from idols and from blood and things strangled and from sexual immorality, but we did NOT say that they should forsake the Laws of Moses and Jewish customs as you have been teaching”. (Acts 21:21-25) (paraphrased)
James must have heard or known also that Paul was teaching against the law and purposely tested him and exposed his hypocrisy by having him to perform a Jewish ritual that was according to the law that Paul preached against.
First, Paul is a Jewish Christian:
James: “You need to show the Jewish Believers that all the rumors that they hear about you teaching against Moses and the Jewish customs are not true.” (Acts 21:24) (paraphrased)
Paul attempts to “become one” like he does with the Greeks but the Jewish Believers see through it!
So Paul, goes to the temple and purifies himself in an attempt to convince the Jewish Believers that he still keeps the law and that he is walking upright (something that he himself preaches against!).
Well, did that work? I’m afraid not. They saw right through the sham. Paul had been teaching so many lies that when they saw him in the temple they really didn’t believe he was sincere and grabbed him and literally threw him out of the temple. (Acts 21:26-32)
Now remember, it is James that says that it is the believing Jews, the Jewish Christians that are against Paul. Then they get all the people riled up against Paul saying, “Hey this is that liar that is teaching against the law and polluting our holy temple by bringing those filthy Greeks in here!”
A whole lot of Jews came together and they dragged him out of the temple and shut the doors and were beating Paul and about to kill him when he was saved by the Roman soldiers just in time. The soldiers had to hold him up so that the angry people wouldn’t kill him.
Now with the protection of the soldiers Paul gets to tell the people who are trying to kill him the whole story about his supposed conversion and they listened since he was able to speak to them in Hebrew, but it didn’t do any good. They still wanted him dead!
Now Paul is a Roman citizen:
The Romans decide they are going to scourge Paul to get him to tell them what he did that made the people want him dead so badly. But then he saves himself from scourging by telling them he’s a Roman.
Now Paul is a Pharisee:
So then the chief priests are called in to tell what they are accusing him for. Then to get out of trouble with the high priest that he has just insulted, he tells them he is a Pharisee, which divided the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
The Roman chief captain, fearing that they would pull Paul to pieces had the soldiers bring him to the castle, to save him from the wrath of the Jews — for Paul’s own protection!
Paul lies again to save his skin!
And the Jews now are so upset with Paul they are bound with an oath to kill him. Finally he is send to Felix since he can’t get a fair trial. Paul tells Felix that he is being accused of heresy and that these are all trumped up charges against him and that he was doing nothing more than praying in the temple.
Of course, Paul doesn’t tell them why the people really wanted to kill him: teaching against the law and Moses and that the Jews should not keep their customs — which would have been heresy. If they had been convinced of this, it may have been enough for the Romans to have him executed.
Now Paul is a Roman citizen again:
Finally after appealing to Caesar, to make a long story short, Paul succeeds in convincing them that he is innocent, charges are dropped against Paul and he is shipped to Italy (for his own safety?) and goes on toward Rome, where Paul dwells 2 years in his own rental house.
Italy is where Paul has the most success in converting the gentiles without the hindrance of the Jews and the Jewish believers. Christianity becomes the strongest in Rome with the backing of the Roman empire and its government.
Next: Paul: the False Apostle | Heresies of Paul